Achieving health together

Without an intact environment, people can never be healthy. As the recent pandemic and numerous environmental disasters have demonstrated all too clearly, we are reliant on functioning ecosystems and a stable climate. Sooner or later, the way we treat our planet will leave traces on human health. Since everything is interlinked, achieving health requires a joint effort with other sectors.This is the idea underpinning the One Health approach.

One area where One Health has been in use for several years is the fight against antibiotic resistance. Bacteria adapt to antibiotics and become resistant to them if they are used too frequently or incorrectly. Antibiotic resistance is an issue that affects human medicine, veterinary medicine, agriculture and the environment. Adopting a cross-sectoral approach to the problem therefore seems the logical thing to do.The Strategy on Antibiotic Resistance (StAR) gives us a structure within which we can work closely and effectively with the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office, the Federal Office for Agriculture and the Federal Office for the Environment.The only way we can avoid resistance is by reducing antibiotic use in all areas.

Interdisciplinary collaboration is the key to creating a positive framework for health. Environmental and health problems often have shared roots, which can only be addressed by concerted action. Efforts to combat climate change and protect the environment are ultimately also forms of health promotion and disease prevention. An interdisciplinary approach is essential in preventing and managing hazards such as pandemics and antibiotic resistance.